Cloth-holder for cutting-tables



M. BRETH AND T. R. ATKINSON. CLOTH HOLDER FOR CUTTING TABLES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, m9.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES Arman/us M. BRETH AND T. R. ATKINSON.

CLOTH HOLDER FOR CUTTING TABLES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, I9l9.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IV Mm 11 5 6 ATM/M1518 WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAXIMILIAN nanrn, OF NEW YORK, N. 2, AND THOMAS n. ATKINSON, or DUNEL- LEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS T0 BRETH SYSTEM, INO., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CLOTH-HOLDER FOR CUTTING-TABLES.

Application filed November 10, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MAXIMILIAN BRETI-I and THOMAS R. ATKINSON, citizens of the United States, and residents, respectively, of the city of New York, borough of Man hattan, in the county and State of New York, and Dunellen, in the county of MlCldlesex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Cloth-Holder for Cutting-Tables, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to cloth handling apparatus and has particular reference to attachments for cutting tables for holdmg of the ends of layers of cloth on a cutting table during the laying and the cutting Operations.

Among the Objects of the invention is to provide a device including a weighted arm for direct holding contact with successlve layers of the cloth and supporting means for the arm adapted to hold the same in different positions elevated above the table or pile of cloth.

Another object of the invention is to provide a movable weighted arm device for engagement with successive plies of cloth, and a counting or tallying device cooperating with the weighted arm for the purpose of registering the number of plies of cloth, the counting device being so correlated with the movable arm as to be actuated by the arm during a portion only of the movement thereof so that the arm may be moved for certain purposes and to a predetermined extent without actuating the counting device.

With the foregoing and other objects in View the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the in vention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested here in, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference 1s had to the accompanying drawings, in WlllCll like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of our 1mprovement in Operative position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational detail.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are diagrams indicating.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented N 0v. 9, 1920.

Serial NO. 337,061.

as many diiferent positions of the weighted arm wlth respect to the tallying mechanism.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings we show our device as comprising a base plate 10 adapted to lie fiat upon the upper surface of the cutting table T. Attached to the ends of the base plate are up rights or standards 11 and 12 of any suitable design, but having sufiicient strength and rigidity for the purpose of constituting the main supports for a weighted movable arm device or holder represented as a whole at 13 and comprising a pair of arms 14 and 15 and a finger bar 16 connecting the otherwise free ends of the arms.

The arms aforesaid are journaled coaxially of each other upon the upper ends of the standards by means of pivot members 17. Intermediate the ends of the arms is connected a brace bar 18 making the holding member a rigid structure and with sufiicient weight either in itself or applied thereto to serve to hold the pile or layers of cloth C while being laid.

Any suitable claw or finger device may be provided for the bar 16 for engagement with the uppermost ply of cloth. We prefer, however, for this purpose to employ a plurality of fingers 19 which are adjustable longitudinally of the bar 16. Each finger device comprises a slide 20 embracing and movable longitudinally along the bar 16. Said slide is provided on the inner or rear side of the bar 16 with spaced parallel ears 21 having registering holes in which is slidably fitted a plunger 22 having a sharp lower point for direct contact with the cloth A spring 23 surrounding the plunger between the ears urges the point of the plunger downward. The soft rubber thimble 24 is fitted upon themlower exposed end of the plunger and serves as a guard for the point thereof. The lower end of the thimble constitutes an Open tube and under normal conditions projects down to about the level of the point so that the Operators hands or sleeves are thereby protected from coming into direct contact with the point, especially when passing laterally beneath the plungers. The thimbles being flexible do not prevent the downward action of the points of the plungers in holding or gripping the plies of cloth.

The top of the cutting table while pre-' cured ri 'idly to the bar 16 and one or more of the plungers were so located as to project idly into the depresslons 1n the table top the points of the plungers would be practically useless, but by making the fingers adjustable lengthwise of the bar, by sliding the slides, the

points of the plungers may be so positioned 1 as to always coeperate with favorable parts or points of the table top. Moreover, the plungers are so constructed with respect to the guiding ears and spring means acting thereon as to project well beneath the lower edge of the bar therefore the several points of the plunger-s are adapted for cooperation with plies of cloth even though the pile should not be of uniform thickness or perfectly level, that is to say any one of the points of the plungers is adapted to pro ject downward farther than the others. Any suitable number of the fingers may be employed on the bar.

The base plate 10 may be secured at any desired place along the length 01" the table T so as to make the device operative .anywhere along the table, depending of course upon the length of the table and the length of the pile of cloth to be laid thereon. As a suitable means for securing the base plate and standards carried thereby, to the table, we provide a clamp 25 having an extension 26 to reach beneath the table and through which any suitable gripping means 27 may be operated into clamping position. The mainportion of the clamp 25 is preferably provided with horizontally extending wings 28 to lie fiat against the side or edge of the table and thereby reduce to a'minimum the likelihood o1 distortion of the device from the position exactly perpendicular to the length of the table. Any suitable means preferably including lag screws 29 may be provided to secure the clamp 25 to the base plate, the lag screws being so arranged as to project through. the base '30 of the standard 11 and into holes tapped into the upper portion of the clamp.

The bearing portion 31 of at least one of the standards through which the pivot mem ber 17 projects, is provided with a plurality of notches 32 and the former being at the side and on about the same level as the axis of the pivot while the latter is above the aXis of the pivot. The hub portion31 furthermore is provided with an upward extension 34: constituting a stop member for a purpose soon to appear.

The arm 14;, that is to say the arm adjacent to the bearing hub provided with the notches a 'oresaid, carries a locking bolt 35 adapted. to reciprocate along the arm in either of the notches when brought by the swinging of the arm around its axis, into registry with the notches. When the arm or holding. device is down in operative position as shown in Fig. 1 and coeperating with a pile of cloth or". any ordinary depth the.

point of the bolt is supported upon the circular portion of the hub 31 just beneath the notch 32. lvhenever the holding device however is lifted far enou h the bolt will snap in the notch 32 and ir the holding device is swung upward to or toward the vertical position the point of the bolt will ride idly over the cam surface 39 between the two notches'and will eventually snap into the upper notch 33. The stop 34 is long or high enough to prevent the end of the bolt passing it even though the bolt ma be under hand manipulation so that when the operator swings the holding device upward such swinging thereof is limited to the vertical and the. cooperation between thebolt and the notch 33 will hold the holding member vertical until released by hand manipulation of the bolt which we find may be conveniently effected by means of a lever of the first class i0 pivoted at ll and projecting through a slot 42 in the arm 14. Une end of the lever is pivoted at d3 to the end of the bolt 35 while the other end of the lever constituting a handle lies within easy grasping distance of the crossbar 18 so that by grasping his hand around both the lever and the crossbar the operator may easily draw the bolt against the force of the spring 37 and thereby withdraw it from either notch for lowering thev holding device. Ordinarily for swinging the holding device upward to the vertical position the hand manipulation of the bolt isnot necessary.

Located at any convenient place adjacent to the hub 31 as upon a ledge 44: cast as an integral part of the standard 11, is a counter or tallying device ,25 of any well known construction including an oscillating arm for registering the number of plies of cloth beinglaid. Vi e are aware that it is not broadly new to employ a counting device in connection with any machine for kee ing a record of the number of units of work being performed or operated upon, but we believe that the particular correlation between this counting device and the movable holding device is distinctly new and of peculiar importance as will presently appear. Noting nowthe diagrams'in Figs. 4, 5-and 6 it vvillbe appneeiated-thatthe arm ad of the counter occupies the same position irrespective of the position of the arm 14 and bolt 35 until the bolt commences to ride up over the cam 39. The connection between the hub 47 of the arm 14 and the arm 46 of the counter consists of a link 48 having a slot 49 in which the free end of the arm 46 is loosely pivoted. The length of this slot and its location with respect to the point of attachment 50 with the hub 47 are such that while the holding device or arm 14 is oscillated between the level of the table and the effective level of the notch 32, the pivot conneetion with the arm 46 plays idly in the slot. As soon however as the bolt rides up over the cam the link 48 causes an actuation of the counter arm 46 as indicated in Fig. 6 so that by the time the arm is lowered again one count has been registered on the counter. A spring 51 is connected to the counter arm 46 which is sufficiently powerful to cause the counting actuation thereof while the holding device is being lowered. In other words the push. of the link 48 carries the arm 46 into position to engage the counting mechanism to make the next registration by virtue of the spring 51 when the link 48 is moved toward its normal position, the spring causing the arm 46 to follow the upper or left end of the slot 49 during the lowering movement of the holding device. We wish now to point out the particular purpose of having the registering of the counter take place only while the arm 14 is reciprocating between the limits of the two notches 32 and 33. This device being designed for easy and rapid manipulation, the cloth operator, when a ply of cloth is to be laid beneath the holder, will grasp the holder and swing it upward as far as it will go, this movement being limited as stated above by the stop 84. In this position the bolt 35 will lock the holder until the ply of cloth is laid. The operator then grasps around the lever 40 and the cross bar withdrawing the bolt from the notch and lowers the holder to the table or upon the ply of cloth last laid. Ordinarily the operator during this lowering movement will retain his grasp upon the lever 40 until the bolt passes the notch 32, the movement of the holder at this time being a simple continuous one. The actuation of the counter however as before stated has been completed by the time the bolt passes over the notch 32. The operator continues laying the cloth, lifting the holder as before described to admit each ply which is counted in turn. Various conditions demand however that the holding device he lifted out of contact with the cloth and be held in elevated position at times when the actuation of the counter is not desired for instance if it should appear that the cloth beneath the holder should require smoothing or straightening at any tion where the bolt will engage in the notch 32 and retain the holder until it is to be lowered again. During this lifting and lower ing of the holder the counter remains idle and hence makes no registration of the act. It will thus appear that we have devised a combined cloth holder and counter so cor related that the movements of the holder within certain limits are not recorded on the counter, while the ordinary movements of the holder are properly recorded.

lVe claim:

1. In a cloth holding device, the combination of a standard, a movable holding arm pivoted to move around a horizontal axis on said standard and from a position of contact with the table to an upright posi tion, hand manipulated locking means carried by the arm and cooperating with the standard for locking the arm either in the upright position or in an intermediate position, and a counter actuated by the arm during only the movement thereof between the two locking positions.

2. In a cloth holding device for cutting tables, the combination of a base plate, rigid standards extending upward therefrom, means to fix the base plate and standards to the table in rigid position, an oscillating cloth holding member pivoted to the stand ards for movement around coaxial pivots, a locking bolt carried by said holding member, stop means cooperating with said bolt to limit the upward swing of the holding member to a vertical position, one of said standards having a pair of spaced notches for cooperation with said locking bolt, one for the upright position and one for a position intermediate of said vertical and the position in which the holding member cooperates with the table, a counter, and a slotted link extending between the holding member and the counter, said counter and slotted link being so related that the counter is actuated only while the holding member is moved between the two notch positions.

3. In a cloth holding device for cutting tables, a movable cloth holding member comprising a finger bar, a plurality of.

spring fingers mounted upon said bar and adjustable longitudinally thereof, and means for supporting the movable holding member for movement into and out of engagement with the cloth.

4. In a cloth holding device for a cutting table, a movable holding member comprising a straight horizontal finger bar movable toward and from the table, a plurality of fingers secured to the bar and including pointed plungers, means to cause the points distances beneath the bar,- flexible thimbless fitted upon said pointed plungers and guard- 10 ing the points thereof from lateral contact, and means to support the holding device for movement into and out of engagement with the cloth.

" MAXIMILIAN BRETH.

THOMAS ATKINSON. 

